A Critique Paper on the Performance of “Le Bal”

“Le Bal” is a stylized performance spectacle that collates about 50 years of European
political and social history into a night at the dance hall. The film contains a series of
episodes in dance and music without dialogue. The performers come together, fight, flirt, and
reconcile and go their separate ways. The film achieves its goal of exploring how historic
events affected the culture of the people of France from 1930 to 1980, creates a nonverbal
performance, and relies on dance, music, costumes, scenery, and lighting to achieve this goal.
The director Scola, switches the film from the present back in time from the period of
the Popular Front and gradually transcends to World War II, the German Occupation, and the
Liberation among other periods to ultimately back to the present (Canby). This transition,
popular music, behaviors, costumes, mimed characters, and dance allow the audience to have
a glimpse of the historic events that affected the culture of the people of France from 1930 to
1980 (Canby). The director uses humor in most of the brief episodes of different eras. The
most captivating moment is the episode of the Resistance fighter’s return from the Algerian
war. Despite missing a leg, the performer still manages to dance with vigor capturing the
interest of an aristocratic woman.
The director’s stylization of the performance is beautiful while the soundtrack consists
of a variety of popular songs covering half a century. The performers dance the French java,
foxtrot, disco, twist, and tango among other dance styles (Canby). The director also uses
songs from popular artists including Charles Trenet, Irving Berlin, and Charles Aznavour
among others (Canby). Since the performance is a spectacle, most of the actors remain

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anonymous. The director’s choice of lighting, costumes, songs, and other elements helped in
achieving the goal through conceptualization.

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Works Cited

Canby, Vincent. “’LE BAL,’ A COMEDY ADAPTED BY ETTORE SCOLA.” The New
York Times, The New York Times, 23 Mar. 1984,
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/23/movies/le-bal-a-comedy-adapted-by-ettore-
scola.html.